quitting the smoking habit

I've been smoking since I was 17. Texas raised the tax again and now cigs are almost 7 dollars a pack. I can't afford it. I've always lifted between 4 to 5 days a week but could never kick the habit. I've just started taking muy tai classes and realized that my endurance is gone. I've strayed from cardio because I hate it and im trying to gain weight. I really want to quit this once and for all. Anyone have any tips? I've read up on quite a few but was never sucessful.

i lowered my cigarettes by 1 per day till i got down to 6 cigarettes. from there, i had to cut out coffee, and do things that made smoking impossible - multiple showers per day, swimming, getting in the hot tub at the gym (like 4-5 times per day). you can't smoke if you're wet, and by the time you dry off, the cravings have gone away for a little bit.

breath mints helped - reaching into your pocket and pulling something out to put in your mouth helps with the psychological aspect. cinnamon toothpicks have helped others. gum would be another one.

i did the same a scloud, smoked the same evry day for a week, the next week id smoke one less for the whole week, the next week the same, so I was alwaya having the same amount of smokes each day for a whole week. then the next week Id just have one less each day of that week.
EG: week 1 15 cigs ( each day)
week 2-14 cigs
week 3-13cigs
all the way down the line, and I only did this cause I wanted to put on size, smoking makes you thin. It was real hard but I did it somehow and never looked back.
Seems now though that I sometimes get the craving for the GREEN cigarettes more and more, which are awful for your test levels. I just need it once a month or so ease the pain, lol. If only weed made your muscles grow, Id be high all the time.

1. remember you will fail not once but multiple times. if you can't accept this, you won't quit

2. use a reliable nicotine replacement - for me it was the patch. get the strongest dosage for your entire course - don't bother with the lower dosage patches that are just as expensive. just keep using the strongest dosage but cut up into 1/2 or 1/3, as needed.

3. beat yourself up psychologically for smoking or being dependent on nicotine - doing this made me feel weak for being so dependent on a drug.

I've had friends and family who had good results from welbutrin (plus they said they had crazy col dreams).

For me when I quit I just felt like it was time. I was tired of showering on Fri. getting dressed up, looking and smelling good then only to smoke a cigarette and smell like ash. I just felt like it was time to be done and truly did not want to smoke down inside. 1st 3 months were the hardest. I had to change behavior, like chew gum after eating instead of smoking, tone the drinking back because I always smoked when I drank, and not go out to the smoking area with others on breaks etc.
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Wish you the best of luck man, it's a hard journey, but if my mother can do it after 1-2/day for 25-30 years you can. If you fail once don't give up. It takes most people several tries to quit.

My nephew smoked for a couple years and he's done really well using nicotine gum. He was smoking a half pack/day, and he would get by with 3 pieces of gum per day. He's finally tapered down to just one piece per day after about 3 months.

The effect on test levels by thc aren't 100 percent accurate. I still smoke occasionally. Nicotine is the devil/ it makes me feel like im burning. Steam room helps a bit, and cardio till im half dead. What im trying to do is use the patch only when I need it, and take it off when I sleep. It doesn't help everyone at my work smokes either..

I smoked for about 10 years, quite over 4 years ago and have not had one since. I do have the occasional cigar but i only smoke a few dozen a year when i fish. I also chewed tobacco heavily so it was rough. I used the nicorette gum, but only when i needed it, they want you to chew like 12 pieces a day in the beginning, F that. I also chewed sunflower seeds to kill the oral habit from the chew. Stay out of bars, and don't drink. I never had a problem with people smoking around me, but some may. It is basically a will power thing, like dieting.

I smoked for many years. I quit once I found out the wife was pregnant. My advice? Find something that you really like (for me it was chocolate rollos candy) and have them on hand. Everytime you get a craving, indulge in that thing that you like. When ever I had a craving I had a rollo. Oddly enough I didnt gain weight when I quit either. Using fitness as a motivation also works! Good luck